Ramapo Fencers Defeat Nyack 17-10 in Season Opener

The following report was contributed by boys fencing head coach Paul Apostol: 

Ramapo fencers jump-started their season with an excellent showing against Nyack.

Powerful victories by Green Raiders starters and their backups allowed for extensive substitutions so that 27 Ramapo fencers each fenced one bout apiece. 

Ramapo’s starting lineup cruised to an 8-1 record before turning over fencing duties to the first wave of 9 substitutes who produced a 7-2 record. Ramapo’s third round of 9 substitutes, most of whom were freshmen with just 3 weeks of experience, contributed another two victories to Ramapo’s overall 17-10 victory.

Ramapo sabreists, the defending N.J. State Champions, dominated their opponents with a  3-0 opening round record on the strength of convincing 5-1, 5-2, and 5-2 victories.

Taking the lead for the team were senior and overall team captain, Charles Copti, the defending NJ State Individual Sabre Champion; senior and squad captain, Josh Chang, a returning member of last year’s gold medal Team; and freshman Adam Carcione, a very talented new addition to the sabre squad.

The strong sabre bench produced another 3 victories by senior Eric Yoon and sophomores Alex Gorloff and Gregory Duch.

Ramapo’s young epee squad, without a senior among them, produced a very strong 7-2 record. Starters and returning members of last year’s first string, juniors Sam Judd and squad captain Scott Zellers dominated their opponents with 5-0 and 5-1 scores.

Junior Anthony Sclafani, who is not yet fully recovered an illness, worked hard to produce his 5-4 victory.

The epee bench displayed a great deal of talent with junior Anthony Ferrer; sophomores Edward Lim, Michael Daly; and freshman Adam Polevoy all produced one-sided victories.

Despite the foil squad’s 4-5 record, there were some excellent individual performances. Squad captain and returning starter Tyler Clarke easily defeated his Nyack opponent 5-1, as did sophomore Paul Noh.

Sophomore Nick Carpino who is vying for a spot in the starting lineup also cruised to a 5-2 victory.

A terrific surprise was the performance by newcomer to the team, sophomore Daniel H. Kim.

Kim defeated his opponent 5-0, scoring with five classic parry-ripostes against his opponent.

He did not make even a single off-target touch, which is almost unheard of in a foil bout. Daniel’s older brother Terence, who was team captain and our leading foilist in 2010 and who currently fences for Columbia University, started giving Daniel lessons last summer.

It certainly shows. 

I am also delighted to report that Bill VanKluyve, who has served faithfully as team armorer, repairing all our broken equipment gratis since 2005 has returned after an illness which kept him away for the last year. VanKluyve's grandson Matt LaSalla was previously a sabre squad captain with the team. 

Matt, a marine, has recently returned from a Special Forces tour of duty in Afghanistan and is finishing his undergraduate degree. We are proud of their service to country and to Ramapo fencing. 

Ramapo’s next meet is at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Wayne Hills, typically one of the strongest teams in our Bergen-Passaic League.

Please come and support the team — it makes a difference.

For info about the team contact Coach Paul Apostol at 201-891-6208 or pdapostol@optonline.net.

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